BARCELONA is Spain’s most modern city, blessed with a mild Mediterranean climate and a colourful array of cultural delights and natural beauty.

So it’s little wonder the Catalonian capital has become a year-round tourist destination.

Set on a plain, rising gently from the sea to a range of wooded hills, it is also one of the Mediterranean’s busiest ports and a regular stop for cruise liners.

There’s a wide range of accommodation, while restaurants, bars and clubs are often packed, as you’d expect at the seaside in summer.

Barcelona regards its past with pride and boasts one of the greatest concentrations of Gothic architecture in Europe. Then, of course, there are surreal spectacles aplenty, spearheaded by Gaudí’s Sagrada Família church.

But don’t get the idea that this isn’t a go-ahead city. You’ll delight in designer stores and cutting edge clubs.

Must Sees

SAGRADA FAMÍLIA

Barcelona’s best-known landmark. Antoni Gaudí’s famous church is a work in progress, seeming to grow organically like some giant alien plant. Five million tourists visit the Sagrada Família each year, more than half paying the entrance fee which helps fund the €1 million a month construction work. A ticket allows you to wander through the interior of the church, a marvellous forest of columns fashioned of porphyry, the only natural element capable of supporting the church’s projected great dome.

PARK GÜELL

Just try to resist falling under Park Güell’s magical spell. With its enchanting gingerbread houses, ceramic-clad lizard, curvy mosaic bench and panoramic views, this is one of the world’s most delightful public spaces. It’s thanks to Gaudí again. His brief was to emulate the English garden cities admired by his patron Eusebi Güell, to lay out a self-contained suburb for the wealthy, but also to design the public areas. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and at its peak is a large cross, and a panorama of Barcelona and the sea beyond.

THE NOU CAMP

The home of FC Barcelona is one of football’s great stadiums – a vast cauldron that holds 98,000. A guided tour takes you through the players’ tunnel and on to the President’s box, where there is a replica of the European Cup.

Factfile

LANGUAGE: Spanish

CURRENCY: Euro

TIME ZONE: Currently GMT + 1 hours

FLIGHT: Monarch offers four direct flights a week from Birmingham, with a flight time of three hours, 15 minutes.

BEST MONTHS: Late spring and early summer tend to boast some of Barcelona’s finest weather, with mild to warm temperatures and frequently sunny skies. Summer is the most expensive time in Barcelona, as schools are on vacation, the weather is warm and continuous droves of tourists pour into the city, especially in August. Prices drop when the crowds abate in September.

VISAS ETC: If you are a British Citizen or a British Subject with Right of Abode in the UK, you do not need a visa to enter Spain. Your passport must be valid for the proposed duration of your stay.

Hotels

POSH

Le Meridien, La Rambla 111

The upmarket Le Meridien hotel Barcelona is on the famous Ramblas in the very heart of the city centre. Plaça de Catalunya is only a few minutes’ walk away with fabulous shopping and transport links. Room rates vary depending on availability and the type of room you want, but start from around €275 for a double room for two in mid-May.

BUDGET

Internacional Cool Local, La Rambla 78-80

Completely refurbished in 2009, the hotel offers modernity and comfort – but on a budget. Public rooms and courtyard spaces are relaxing and welcoming with a modern ambience. A terrace on the Rambla invites you to relax in the sunshine and enjoy the views. Expect to pay from €55 to €90 per night, depending on the time of the year.

Eating Out

Can Culleretes, Calle Quintana, 5

Reputedly the oldest restaurant in Barcelona, the traditional Catalan cuisine here has won plaudits from food writers and tourists alike. It certainly lives up to its ‘good value’ promise with a meal for two including starters, main course and wine for as little as €30.